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Judah looks to claim the IBF Junior Welterweight Title on March 5th (Photo courtesy of Super Judah Promotions).

Fight Slated for March 5th at AmeriHealth Pavilion

Main Events has announced that tickets are now on sale for the upcoming IBF Junior Welterweight Championship fight between WBO NABO titleholder Zab Judah (40-6, 27 KOs) and Kaizer Mabuza (23-6-3, 14 KOs), which will take place at Prudential Center’s AmeriHealth Pavilion in Newark, New Jersey. Seats for the encounter range from $53 for general admission up to $253 for those who wish to sit ringside.

In preparation for the upcoming bout, Judah has enlisted the services of fellow southpaw, Pernell Whitaker, who was also promoted by Main Events before he retired from professional boxing. In the early going of their time together, Whitaker admitted that he was seeing a newer version of the Judah he used to know.

"It's the beginning stages, but I am very impressed,” Whitaker stated. “I'm impressed with his work ethic. We're working twice a day. I see the change in Zab, he's changed a lot. I remember how his camps used to be, a lot of people around making noise, hollering and screaming. That doesn't happen anymore. He's much more focused."

The transition that Judah has made outside of the ring has become evident when he steps between the ropes, with the rejuvenated Brooklyn native picking up a pair of wins since returning to Main Events in 2010. That new attitude is something that has allowed his relationship with Whitaker to work much more easily than it may have in the past.

”I'm putting Zab in school again, and he's learning it all over again,” Whitaker continued. “I'm here to teach, and I'm not playing around with him. Zab's got all the skills in the world, we just got to bring them out, get rid of all the bad habits."

Going well beyond the fact that the duo shares the same dominant hand, these two fighters have also found a lot more common ground that has helped enabled their friendship to be successful during training.

"We've got a lot of similarities, and that's the good part about it,” Whitaker remarked. “There's always been a lot of me in the kid from the beginning. I'm just here to bring it out. I'm here to bring out the things they said I've done so well and that I know he can do well also."

Judah has also shown an additional spark since he began working with Whitaker again.

"When I was young, I was privileged to work with such a great ring technician,” he said. “Back then, I sparred with him, and I witnessed his skill. At this point in my career, Pernell isn't just going through the moves with me. He's explaining the techniques, the how and why. I'm listening, I'm learning. You know, it's like putting a hard drive into a computer. You're just downloading all that information, making it all work. Actually, Pernell and I started working together in about 1990. Now, we're just polishing up!"

Additional fighters slated to appear on the Judah-Mabuza card include undefeated former U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali, Tarvis Simms and Shemuel Pagan. Those interested in purchasing tickets for the event can do so by logging onto www.prucenter.com or www.ticketmaster.com.